Weiss Kruz: dreams of dawn
by lady fionnavar
Summary: Two months later, Sakura and aya still believe Ran is dead.What happens when they meet again. chapter 6 up
1. intro

**Weis Cruz**

**Ch.1**

Sakura tossed and turned in her sleep. Suddenly she sat up in bed, awake. Realizing that, she began to cry. "Aya…your real name was Ran…." Sobbing silently, she held herself. He was gone. "I loved you, Ran. How can I live without you?" She threw herself face forward into her pillow to muffle the sound of her unbearable sorrow.

It had been a few months since she had watched the island laboratory crumble into the sea, along with Ran and his friends…. who had been assassins. She could hardly believe it when the red haired man told her, but she had seen the evidence when he killed someone in front of her.

Still, he was Aya…Ran. No matter what he did he was still the man she loved. Even though he was older than her by at least seven or eight years and these were just some of the things that stood between them, she didn't care. But now he was gone forever.

Aya woke to the sound of someone crying. Groggily, she checked the alarm clock next to her bed. It read 3:42 a.m. Looking over to her left, she found the source of the sobbing. Silently, she pulled off her covers and swung her feet to the floor. Without words she strode over and gathered Sakura in her arms. Sakura clung to her and proceeded to drench Aya's nightshirt. Aya knew full well what was making Sakura cry. She felt a tear escape her own eye.

It was ironic how her brother had spent so much time trying to look after her, especially when she was in a comma, and she should regain consciousness only to learn he was dead. Between that and the vivid memories surrounding the incident that left her in a comma fresh in her mind, she had become a very serious person.

Still, she felt more sorry for Sakura. She found out that Sakura had loved Aya's brother, but Sakura would not tell her why he had been in the crumbling building in the first place. It must have been really bad, for her to refuse to say a word if it was mentioned at all. So Aya asked no questions.

Sakura put on a brave front in the daytime, but at night, she was a wreck; constantly having nightmares, calling for Ran in her sleep and crying.

They were roommates and friends, now. They went to the same school and both had jobs at the same restaurant. Their mutual sorrow seemed to pull them together. But Aya constantly found herself having to be the strong one.

Finally, exhaustion took over Sakura, and she fell asleep in Aya's arms. Aya sighed in relief. She had to admit that Sakura's crying, every single night, unnerved her a bit. It had been almost two whole months since it had happened. 'We have to move on.' thought Aya to herself.

She eased Sakura's head onto her pillow and tucked her in. Then she padded softly across the moonlit floor and got back into bed. 'I'll talk to her tomorrow after school.' She yawned. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

A/n: sorry if not much is going on yet, but I had to explain how things stand in the story before it gets to that. Don't worry; the next chapter is going get interesting. ;)


	2. Meetings

**Chapter 2**

"Bye!" Sakura called to her best friend, Reiko. It was the end of the school day. Sakura smiled at Aya who had been waiting for her in the schoolyard. Even though they were friends, Aya was not in Sakura's homeroom. She was in her last year there before she would go to college.

They walked out of the schoolyard and began the four block walk to their apartment. Walking side by side, they looked almost identical. People often asked them if they were twins. "Do you have a lot of homework today?" Aya asked her. "not really. I have less math then I thought." She looked towards their apartment.

Suddenly, she saw a tall young man with red hair and blanched. "what's wrong, Sakura?" asked Aya, concerned. Sakura didn't seem to hear her. "Ran!" Shouted Sakura. She began to run after him. 'Ran?' Aya thought, looking up, thoroughly confused.

Aya (Ran) turned his head when he heard his real name being called. At first he thought he was seeing his sister, but some small details gave away her true identity. "Sakura?" She stopped. "So it is you?....How......?" She faltered. Suddenly, she burst into tears. "No, I must be seeing things. Ran is dead!" She sobbed before dashing off, almost knocking people over in her haste.

"Ran?" Aya whispered. Ran had spotted her. "Aya." He said. Suddenly he smiled. "what are you doing here, Ran? We heard you were dead." "Not here, Aya. Lets go to your apartment." Surprised that he knew where she lived, she arched an eyebrow, but asked no questions. She simply hugged him, as she tried to suppress her own tears. One escaped, despite her efforts. Seeing this he hugged her back. "I'm sorry for making you believe I was dead." "I think it did more damage to Sakura, somehow. I think she thought you were a hallucination." She smiled through her tears. They walked to the apartment in relative silence, just glad to be together after so long.

Aya was the first to break the silence. "She loves you, you know. I don't know if you guys were together, since I wasn't awake, but...." "we weren't." Ran said, looking away. "She told me how she feels .....but.....we're too different. I can't, Aya." His voice was pleading. " You dork." She grinned at him. " Most guys would kill to be with a girl like her. What's not to like?" Ran flinched at the word "kill", but Aya hadn't noticed. They had reached the apartment and went into the lobby. "Its really not that, Aya." Sighing, he went inside.

They found Sakura lying on her bed, crying. "She's been doing that ever since we heard. Every night." Aya whispered in his ear. "She has?" He asked, looking shocked. "You had better talk to her. Go on." She poked him in the back. He had forgotten how pushy she could be.

"Sakura?" She looked up. "ahhhh!" She scooted into the corner of her bed so her back was pressed against the wall. Aya suppressed a laugh, and went into the kitchen to make dinner. "Its me Sakura. Don't be scared." He sat down and took her hands in his. "See?" Her eyes started to water again. " I thought you were dead." Her emotions astounded him. "I'm sorry. But I had to keep you and Aya out of danger." "WHY?!?!?" Sakura yelled suddenly. "Wha......?" Said Ran, startled. "I don't care about your job, Ran. Or about what you are. I DON'T!" Ran flinched ,slightly. "I am an assassin, Sakura...you've seen me kill. You know I'm dangerous." He said, getting to his feet. He turned towards the door, and came face to face with Aya, whose mouth was agape. "An a...as...assassin?" She just stood there in her shock. Then she shook her head, as if to clear it. Ran reached out for the door's handle. "Oh no, you don't." Aya said, grabbing his arm. He stopped, defeated. "You're going to stay for dinner, and you're going to explain, everything." 'Uh oh.' Thought Ran to himself.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but that just the beginning. Will Aya be forgiving? Or is Ran gonna catch it?(so to speak, of course.) I love the next chapter, which I will not even give a tantalizing hint of besides that, I'm afraid. Why ruin the surprise? sorry if my chapters are short, that's my rustiness for you. But it seems to fit, anyway. And don't worry, I've got up to ch.6 already written out. It just needs to be typed.


	3. nightly surprises

**Chapter 3**

**Surprises**

"So that's it." Said Aya, leaning back on her chair. They had just finished dinner and Ran had filled them in on everything they didn't know. A sudden crash brought them to their feet. Instinctively, Ran put a hand on the hilt of his sword. Aya saw and made a mental note to herself.

Ran opened the back door of the apartment and looked down. Yohji, Ken and Omi were tangled in a heap at the bottom of the stairwell. They had clearly been listening. Ran just scowled at them. "Friends of yours?" Aya asked. Sakura laughed and tackled them. "OWWWW!" They cried in unison. "You're alive!" She exclaimed. "Am I?" Asked a dazed Yohji. Everyone laughed except Ran, who was still scowling.

Turning his back on the scene below, he walked inside and sat on Sakura's bed. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall and closed his Aya walked over and sat next to him. She had never seen her brother like this. He had a worn, haunted look about him. The Ran she had known was different. The one before her seemed to be lacking something. "Are you okay?" she asked. She jumped a little, as Ran laughed bitterly in response. Seriously, he said "How can I be? How am I supposed to be the way I was when I'm not that anymore? I've killed people, Aya! I can't be normal." He hung his head. Tears jumped into Aya's eyes. So that's why he was so awkward with everyone.

"You love her, don't you!" She exclaimed, as the reality hit her. His head snapped up and he looked at her in surprise. "You do?" The look on his face told her it was true. He simply hung his head again and then brought his hands up to his face and buried his head in his hands. Aya put her arms around him in comfort.

Someone gasped. Ran and Aya looked up. Sakura was standing in the back door with Omi, Yohji and Ken, behind her. She just looked at Ran, surprise written all over her face. Omi, Yohji and Ken looked the same way, but they mumbled something about being starving and quietly tiptoed to the kitchen. Aya followed them and closed the kitchen door shut behind her. "Aw." Said Yohji. "Don't do that." She glared at him. "Okay, okay!" He said, sitting down at the table.

Sakura stood looking at Ran for a few moments. The silence hung so thick, you could have cut it with a knife.

Then Sakura walked slowly over to Ran and sat down next to him. She looked him in the eyes. "You do love me, don't you? Tell me the truth." Ran swallowed hard. 'Say no, say no.' His mind screamed. He nodded an affirmation before he could stop himself. Tears came to Sakura's eyes. He brushed them aside without thinking. Suddenly, he found himself leaning closer to her. She leaned closer to him, patiently. He kissed her, softly first, then eagerly. " I love you Sakura." " I know." She said. He kissed her fiercely.

"It's been quiet for a while. Maybe we should check on them." Said Yohji. "Have some decency, you perv. How would you like to have someone come storming in when you were…um…in the middle of something?" Finished Aya, lamely. Omi and Ken blushed. You planned this, didn't you?" Yohji accused. "Don't be dumb. How could I have planned "it", whatever that is? When did I have time?" Aya said. "She's right, you know." Said Ken, quietly. "Well, maybe he'll be more happy now." Said Omi. " I hope so." Said Aya.

Just then Ran opened the door. Sakura came in behind him. Everyone noticed they were holding hands. Ran noticed and let go. Sakura grabbed it back. Aya just smiled.

"I'm quitting Weiss." Announced Ran. Everyone stared at him in shock.

A/N: I think this is what everybody was waiting for. Thank you for all for your advice and (constructive) critisms. I'm going to try and dole my chapters out on a monthly, or at least bi-monthly (every two weeks) basis from now on…. just to keep you hanging, of course. ;) As for Sakua being too emotional, I had a feeling that was going to be mentioned. Some people believe she is too emotional in the show, but I just made her that way to show how badly affected she is by Ran's so-called death.This is a drama, after all. :)Now the question remains: will Weiss continue, or break up? …dun dun dun.… ;)


	4. decision

Chapter 4

"What?" said Yoji finally. "You can't!" "Why not? I just did it to pay her hospital bills." Ran said gesturing at Aya. "But…" "No." Ran cut him off. "Don't you see it, Yoji? And we haven't even had a job for months. I am sick of living this way! Of not being a normal person!" He turned away. "We killed evil people, never innocents. There's no shame in that!" Yoji persisted. "Yoji." Said Aya, quietly. "Come help me do the dishes." She wasn't asking. Yoji sighed and walked over to the sink. Ran smiled gratefully at his sister. "Why don't you two go see a movie or something?" She suggested. Ran smiled and took Sakura's hand. "Okay." He led Sakura out. Ken walked out of the kitchen, lost in thought a few minutes later. Omi, with a backwards glance at Aya, followed suite.

Once the kitchen door was shut, Yoji opened his mouth to speak, but Aya cut him off. "Yoji, please. He needs this. Trust me." Her eyes were pleading. Captivated, he just nodded.

After the movie, Ran and Sakura walked down the street, passing a park on their way back. They stopped at the black metal fence of the park. The park looked out onto the ocean, which was visible from the street. The stars shone clearly in the pitch-black night sky. The silence enveloped them, the streets devoid of all signs of life. Neither said a word, for there was no need. Ran pulled Sakura into his embrace, breathing in the scent of her. He leaned down and softly kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, strongly. She felt wetness on her cheeks. "What is it?" Ran asked, slightly breathless from the kiss. "I'm just happy." She felt more tears come, helpless to stop them. He just held her. He had wanted to for a long time. 'Too long.' He thought to himself.

Ken stood on the balcony of Sakura and Aya's apartment, lost in thought. He was mostly thinking of a woman, but Ran's startling announcement stirred many questions in him. Was this the end of Weis? What would Manx do without them? If Ran was quitting, should he? Then he thought of Yuriko. Would she still love him? Oh, how he longed to take off for Australia. To hold her again.

Omi was sitting in the main room of the apartment thinking similar thoughts. But he had no one to return to. Weis was his family. All he had was Yoji, Ran and Ken. 'Where do I belong?' He wondered.

(A/N: This is one of the shortest chapters I have written so far, but it is just setting the stage for what is to come. Thanks for your comments. I'm working on making my chapters longer, but I hope they don't bother you guys too much. For those who don't remember Yuriko, she was ken's love interest at one time-mission 5-the episode where there was a problem with this energy drink that rots people's muscles. They meet when yuriko raced ken on her motorcycle. By the way, I'm sorry this took so long, but I don't own the anime, and had to figure out yuriko's name.)


	5. meeting and parting

Chapter 5

The sun beat down relentlessly on the asphalt runway. The plane touched down, taxied the runway and finally came to a stop at the terminal. Ken stretched his legs and stood up. He had finally arrived in Australia. He thought he'd never really set foot here in his life.

He walked out of the plane into the terminal. The terminal was bustling with people going to gates or to the entrance to the airport. Ken pulled his carry on case, his only luggage, towards the entrance, sidestepping fast-moving people. Outside he stopped and hailed a taxi. It stopped and he got in. "where to, sir?" Said the cabbie, a middle aged, balding man with a distinct Australian accent. "What's the nearest hotel?" Ken asked him. "The Sidney Marriott, sir." "Alright. Take me there please." Replied ken.

A few hours, a hotel room and a shower later, ken stared out of the glass doors to the balcony. Sitting down on the bed, he dropped his head into his hands. 'Now what?' He thought to himself. He had come here on a whim, in search of Yuriko. But where the hell could he look? She was traveling the back roads of Australia on motorcycle. He could end up searching for a long time. Feeling stupid, Ken just laughed at the situation.

A sudden rumbling of his stomach solved the immediate problem of what to do. He remembered seeing a restaurant connected to the lobby. First, however, he went to the information desk there." Excuse me," He said in English, addressing the woman behind the desk. "Could you tell me if there are any motorcycle events happening soon in Sydney?" She looked at him funny. "Of course. The yearly motorcycle show just started yesterday. I'm afraid they are already sold out. She smiled, a little condescendingly, as if only an idiot wouldn't have known about it. "Never mind." He turned his back on her, annoyed.

Suddenly, Ken thought he was dreaming. There in front of him, yuriko walked out if the restaurant. She looked up and their eyes locked. She gasped. "Ken?" She whispered. Suddenly, a young man walked out of the restaurant. "Are you okay?" He said. Looking in the direction she was looking, he saw ken and frowned. Yuriko looked at the young man, snapping out of her shock. "Oh. John, this is ken: a fellow motorcyclist. I'm just surprised to see him here. Ken, this is John." John nodded stiffly. "Can I speak to him alone a few moments? John looked suspiciously at Ken, but just kissed her cheek and said I'll see you upstairs, okay?" " 'Kay." She replied. Once he was gone, she turned to ken. "Yuriko…." He said, apologetically. "Why did you leave me, ken?" She said softly, switching to Japanese. "Without a word! …I thought you loved me!" She said. He moved closer to her. "I do love you, yuriko. I came here to tell you that. I want to be with you. …I…" She cut him off, angrily. "So you think that's it? I'll come running back to you, whenever you want? Life doesn't work like that." She said coldly. "I'm with john now. You're too late." With those words ken felt his shoulders sag, and his heart drop to his boots. He felt himself go numb. "Yuriko." He said, desperately. She just turned her back on him and walked away. He flinched as though she had slapped him. He felt like such a fool. A hopeless fool. How could he have believed that she would forgive him so easily? Dejectedly, he went back to his room and gathered his things. His brief stay in Australia was over.

Later, on the plane back to Japan, ken looked one last time upon Sydney, sadly. Miles below, Yuriko was looking out of the window of her hotel room. John had left to buy some things. She looked up at the passing plane, thinking of ken. Suddenly, she slid to the floor, crying. She drew her knees to her forehead and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Ken…" She sobbed.

(A/N: I'm so sorry to those who keep track of this story, for not updating regularly. I've been really busy and I don't think I'll be able to write continually. But I will try to type up the next chapter as soon as possible once I edit it. That should be within the week if I'm not too busy. Thank you all for your patience. I know well how waiting can become difficult.

P.S: for those who are totally lost as to why yuriko is mad at ken: in the show, she was going to go to Australia to motorcycle cross-country. She bought him a ticket and he took it, but never got on the plane. )


	6. inner wounds

Chapter 6

It had been almost a week since Sakura discovered that ran was alive. She sat on her bed and smiled. She was dressed and ready for school. It was the first whole week she hadn't woken from nightmares, screaming bloody murder or crying. Aya had managed to cajole the assassins to stay for the week, and even Yoji didn't protest. Ken had come back late last night. No one asked questions, but there were many different opinions on where he had been for little over three days. At the moment Ran, Yoji and ken were sleeping while Aya, Sakura and Omi prepared for school, and Sakura couldn't help but want to make sure again that the guys being back wasn't a dream, even though their snores made it almost impossible to doubt it was real.

Sakura pulled a chair past the divider up to Ran's cot. She loved the way he looked when he was sleeping. He looked younger and more innocent, somehow. She gently brushed some hair off his face. He smiled slightly in his sleep. She leaned over to kiss his cheek, but his eyes flew open and he grabbed her lips with his. Her eyes opened wide in shock, but then she relaxed and kissed him back. She smiled. "Good morning." She told him when they separated.

"Isn't it supposed to be the prince that wakes the princess, not the other way around?" A voice drawled. It was Yoji, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Ran sat up quickly. They both blushed. Yoji cocked an eye. He never recalled seeing the icy Ran blush like that before. 'Hmm…' He thought mischievously.

"Help me make breakfast, won't you, Yoji?" A voice said in his ear. Yoji jumped. "Aya! Don't do that!" He gasped. The others snickered. "What?" She said, innocently. "Never mind," He sighed, and then followed her as she went to the kitchen.

Ran and Sakura watched them enter the kitchen. Then he turned to Sakura, thoughtfully. "Since you've been staying together, has she always been this…. responsible? …I mean, cooking and cleaning, etc…?" He asked. "As far as I know; yeah. Why?" She asked. "She wasn't before?" "Well, … it is just that she was more… frivolous. She loved hanging out with her friends and shopping, more than anything." "…. And you wonder at her constant cleaning and not doing what she used to love, right?" Sakura finished for him. He looked at her in amazement at her accuracy. She smiled at that, but then she said seriously. "I guess that must be my fault. You saw the way I was when you came back?" She continued without waiting for an answer. "Well, I was very…out of it… for a long while. I guess she must have felt the need to care for me, since I couldn't…" She trailed off, realizing how she had truly impacted Aya. She looked away from Ran. Sensing her shame, he tilted her face to him, with his thumb under her chin. She looked into his eyes and felt nothing but love. "Its okay. I don't condemn you for loving me." He grinned. "Maybe she's better this way." He added. She smiled at him lovingly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He put his arms around her and drew her closer as he deepened the kiss. She finally pulled away after a while. " Mmmm…." She sighed peacefully as she leaned on his shoulder. "It feels like I'm dreaming." Still holding her, he breathed her in. He felt her heart beating. "Yeah." He never felt this peaceful in his memory. "I keep thinking I'll wake up one morning to find that I still…" He trailed off. She felt him become tense. Looking up at him, she saw his eyes had become hard. She put a hand on his cheek. "Stop beating yourself up, Ran. Yoji was right, you know. There is no shame in saving the city from evil men." He looked at her and his eyes softened. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes. "That doesn't change the fact that I killed people. I was angry, Sakura… I wanted to do it…. And I wanted… I wanted… revenge." She felt an anger like electricity flow from him. Its force scared her. She caressed his cheek, which had its desired effect of bringing him back out of his anger. As it ebbed out of him, she held him, trying to force her fearfulness into nothingness. A silence hung in the air as thick as night. He was not a violent person in his heart, but time had hardened him to that softer side of him. He pushed away from her. She looked up, to see him put his head in his hands. He sighed. She held out her hand to touch him, but stopped, hand suspended in the air halfway there. "Ran…?" She stopped, startled by a single tear falling from his cheek. "Oh, Ran." She whispered, moving closer to him. He looked at her, his eyes filled with unspilt tears. He looked away, embarrassed. She put a hand on his cheek and turned his head towards her. She brushed the tear away. Looking into his eyes, she found intense pain. "Ran!" She cried out, throwing her arms around him. She wept for him; for his pain and the things he had lost. She felt his arms go around her, and the weight of his head on her shoulder. She felt her shoulder becoming wet. "Sakura!" Ran felt the last of his well-maintained façade of calm shatter like glass. What he felt engulfed him and he surrendered to it, wholeheartedly, at last. He hugged her until she cried out, the kissed her on the eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and then her mouth again, passionately. At first she was so shocked by the sudden gestures that she froze. Then she relaxed and kissed him back, feeling a hunger she had never felt before rage through her. As his hands went up through her hair, playing with it softly. She felt she liked this side of Ran.

Suddenly, she came to her senses and pulled away, blushing. He went back to his calm self, but Sakura saw the emotion behind it as he spoke. "What's wrong?" He asked, concern filling his once icy gaze. "We're on my bed." She said softly. It took a minute for him to get what she meant. "Oh." He said, at a loss for words. "I'm sorry if I've made you fell uncomfortable, Sakura." "It's just that I'm not ready for… anything like that yet." She said, awkwardly. "Ok." He said, just as awkwardly. 'Ok? That's all you can say? Ok?' He cursed himself, mentally. She felt better when she sensed his awkwardness. She knew he understood how she felt, and felt the same. He would not go farther than she could handle. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you." She said. "I have to go to school now, but since this is Friday, we have the weekend…together." She promised. She started to get up, but sat down and kissed him one last time, to assure him that their conversation had changed nothing between them.

(a/n: I hope ran doesn't seem out of character in this chapter, to all who love his aloof, mysterious ways. I thought it was time he unloaded his baggage and who better to be his ear than Sakura?

The going will be ever more slow from here on because, although I am in the process of writing the next chapter, time is not my friend. So I apologize, but please bear with me. Your feedback is very much appreciated. )


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